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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · kid · vault · club · date · wave · squash · game

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. club — for golf
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. game — wild animals
  8. squash — to crush
  9. club — a group
  10. game — a match
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. clip — for paper
  14. club — for dancing
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. date — the fruit
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. squash — the sport
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. vault — a safe
  23. kid — child
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com